


First Contact

by botgal



Category: Hiveswap, Homestuck
Genre: Alien Cultural Differences, Awkward Alien Human Interactions, Pale Romance | Moirallegiance, sibling relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-27
Updated: 2017-09-27
Packaged: 2019-01-06 00:32:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,297
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12200394
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/botgal/pseuds/botgal
Summary: Jude Harley, conspiracy expert extraordinaire, has his first contact with an alien life form.... It doesn't go so well.





	First Contact

Your name is Jude Harley. Expert of all things conspiracy and extraterrestrial related, watcher of mysterious cults, protector of your home, and vanquisher of all threats.

Or, at least two out of four of those things are correct. As your home is currently still under siege by monsters, and your current 'threat' which wears sunglasses and has deer antlers colored like candy corn currently has its bum planted firmly on your back while messing with a collection of guns that it had stolen from all around your home.

After having exhausted your great cache of profanities at it (though unfortunately all of your 'darns', 'gollies', 'hecks', and, dare you say it, 'poops', had absolutely no effect) and realizing there was no avenue to hit it without some sudden major change in how joints and bones work, you resigned yourself to being sat on by the alien monster.

“... Hey.” You finally speak to it after a long while, though it keeps messing with the guns. “So, you ARE an alien, right?... Can you understand me?”

“Yes. I can understand you.” Well, that was a relief. At least there might be some form of communication.

“... Can you let me up? You're heavy, and I promise I won't try to hit you again.”

“Nah. You're fine. And you probably _are_ going to try to hit me again.”

Alright, that was fair. He probably  _would_ try to hit it again if let up from the bottom weighing him down. He grumbled, playing with the floorboards of the treehouse with the tip of his fingernail.

“... Can you at least tell me your name?”

“Why don't you tell me yours?” it replied without missing a beat.

“I asked you first!”

“I asked you second.”

Jude grumbled under his throat, but still the alien refused to budge. It did something that sounded like it was cocking the gun, but then put that one down out of Jude's reach and started messing with another one. So, it was checking the weapon supplies.

“...My name is Jude. Jude Harley.” The alien turned it's head a bit, and Jude saw those curving sunglasses tilt towards him as if to look. (At least, he hoped those were glasses. He shuddered to think if those glassy black things were some sort of set of bulbous eyes. Bleugh.)

“... Tetrarch Dammek.” Well, they were on a first name basis, at least.

“Alright, Tetrarch, why are you here? Did you come to invade our planet? Why'd you come through that big snake portal? And what happened to my sister?”

“Sort of a long story on how and why I'm here. Let's just say a lot of stuff went sideways and I'm not really sure how all of it went down or how to explain it. So forget that. And also... what's a sister?” Jude craned his neck to give the alien an incredulous look.

“What? Do you not have a sister?”

“I don't even know what a 'sister' is.”

“Wow.” Jude gave him a disappointed look.

“What?”

“That may be just about one of the saddest things I've ever heard.” Sure, there were some kids who didn't have siblings at all. And he and Joey drove each other crazy sometimes. But still, having only her and their babysitter around, and the babysitter not always all there even when she was there... sounded like a pretty lonely fate to not even have one. “Well, it's like... your sister is a girl you're related to because of your parents. My sister, Joey, is older than me. She kind of drives me batty, and doesn't always believe me when I tell her I know what I'm doing or about the secret cults that are always nearby, but I still love her a lot.”

“... I have no idea what you're even talking about,” Tetrarch said flatly. “But I think I _did_ see a girl when I was sent here. We met each other during the crossing, maybe? I only got a quick look at her, though. I mean, she seemed fine, I think, but like I said, we only saw each other for a moment or so.” Jude gasped suddenly enough to make the alien start, then let out a sigh of relief.

“Oh thank goodness, she's safe at least,” he sighed.

“Well, I don't know about that. She might've been sent to my planet since I was sent here, and that sure as hell isn't going to be safe for her.” Jude hardly even took note of the blatant use of profanity as he thought about that. Oh god, that was right. If this alien was here, then Joey might have been sent to its planet in exchange through the portal. He did see her go up in that beam of green light.

“Oh no... we have to find some way to bring her back!”

“ 'We'? Kid, my only concern is getting out of here and back to my own planet. I'm on the cusp of a revolution sweeps in the making and I'm not letting it get messed up by some freak accident with our secret weapon.”

“Come on! Maybe bringing her back will help us get you back somehow! We'd have to try!” The alien stubbornly kept on loading up guns, and finally Jude snapped. “You can't just sit there and keep loading up guns! My sister is in danger and I need to save her, and I won't stop until I do! Even if you don't know what a sister is and don't have one, don't you have _anyone_ you care about who you'd do anything to make sure they're safe!?”

There was a final sort of  _click_ of ammunition in a gun, and then the alien went silent. Slowly, it put down the gun, and reached into its pocket and pulled out a flat rectangular device. What was that? Some sort of alien machine? It was lighting up and the alien poked at it.

–

Your name is Tetrarch Dammek. Or, so your title is. Since your moirail calls you by the full thing most of the time, but you just think of yourself as 'Dammek' in thought. Saying the full thing in your own head would be super tedious.

Since you're experiencing the same conversation as Jude for a while, you're picking up here where he left off, reaching into your hoodie pocket and pulling out your palm husk. You lost your tablet when the secret weapon went off, but thankfully you always carry around no less than five computers on your person at all times. Like a sensible person. You check the signal indicator in the corner, and of course, there's still nothing. Nothing for you to do or look at except the background picture on your screen. One displaying a selfie of you and Xefros both smiling at the camera.

Xefros... your moirial...

“Um, Tetrarch?” The alien kid snaps you out of your thinking, and you shake your head, slipping your phone back away.

“... Alright, kid. I'll tell you what. I need to get back to my planet, you need to get your 'sister' person back.” What was that? Some kind of weird alien quadrant? Who knew. “And there's also the monster problem down in your yard.” Seriously, what even were those things. “If I help you get her back, you help me out as long as I'm here. Deal?”

“Um... do you think we could make the deal when you're _not_ sitting on me?”

Oh, right. That was still a thing he was doing. He hefted himself off of the alien's back, even offering down a hand to help. Jude took it gratefully and stood up while stretching out. Dammek offered his hand out to Jude.

“Deal?”

Jude nodded, reaching out a hand and clasping his hand.

“Deal.”

 


End file.
